(Newser)
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Bitcoin had a good day yesterday—as did people holding the virtual currency. On some exchanges, it hit record prices of $800 or more after a Senate hearing that saw federal officials praise some of the benefits of digital money, the Wall Street Journal reports. The first-ever congressional hearing on the subject was told that the Department of Justice "recognizes that many virtual currency systems offer legitimate financial services" that could boost global commerce, and that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke believes the likes of Bitcoin "may hold long-term promise" and could promote a "faster, more secure, and more efficient payment system."

"There are plenty of opportunities for digital currencies to operate within existing laws and regulations," testified a Secret Service special agent. The IRS said it was "actively working" on regulations for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, and financial regulators said they were looking at moves to increase oversight. Officials also testified about the use of Bitcoin for illegal purposes—including the now-closed illegal drug marketplace Silk Road—but said existing laws are good enough to prosecute offenders who use Bitcoin. The surge in the price of Bitcoin—which was just $13 in January—sent the value of the total outstanding pool of the currency to more than $7 billion, reports the New York Times. (Read more bitcoin stories.)

Their only exchanging one fiat currency for another, can anyone say........worthless? The NWO is working overtime this century.

American Hero

Nov 20, 2013 9:47 AM CST

what's the big deal, I have thousands of monopoly bucks saved up, they will be worth a fortune soon...............................

Eateator

Nov 19, 2013 10:21 AM CST

If you understand why gold is valuable you already get the basics of bitcoin. Just replace digging in the dirt with digging through the program's data. The real ingenuity is tying the "digging" back to the transactional needs of the network.